Episode 129 for the week of December 29th, in which we cover The Princess and the Queen, or, 1000 Pregnant Rats and a Bear. In a spoiler filled episode, the four podcast hosts reunite to cover George RR Martin’s epic contribution to the anthology Dangerous Women.

The name A Dance with Dragons, could be an implication of claimants missing. We have Daenerys, false Aegon, and possibly Jon Snow. Just like in the Princess and the Queen we have an heir that is being pushed to the throne by other people, for their own interest, that is false Aegon, we have a rightful female heir in exile (if Dragonstone could ever be called such in case of Rhaenyra), that is Daenerys.

Now, the real question is where in this picture does Jon fit, and how will the three of them interact in the future two books?

I don’t think it was an error that Aegon has the title of King of the Rhoynar despite Dorne not being subject to the Iron Throne at the time. The kings of England claimed to also be the kings of France until they dropped the title in the beginning of the 18th century. I took Aegon’s title to be a similar thing.

GRRM has given us a primer on how to train your dragons. Tyrion being the dragon freak that he is, would have read this account. Perhaps his saddle design for himself & Bran came from an illustration of a dragon saddle. I hope Missandei is a descendant of Nuttle.

Very true. If Tyrion doesn’t get to ride a dragon by the end of the series I will be very disappointed (and no I do not accept that this means he is a secret Targ because I hate that theory) I don’t think Missandei is a descendent of Nettle though – I do really want to know what happened to her though she was my favourite and I wish we got to learn more about her.

My one complaint about this story is that as part of an anthology called ‘Dangerous Women’ it’s female characters were surprisingly absent or sidelined. This was especially the case with Alicent. Instead we had to hear about all this assholes like Daemon and Aemond.

I think the title “A dance with dragons” is all about how you have all these forces maneuvering, Euron, Victarion, Jon Connington, Tyrion, Danny, Quentyn, Qarth, Volantis, Yonkai, the Mereneese, Varys, Illyrio, and the Dothraki, They’re all in motion plotting and scheming and grasping, playing musical chairs, its a dance. But the dragons are staying put and everyone else is maneuvering around them and because of them.

Its a dance with dragons added in, but its not a dance of dragons with the dragons leading.

I had been thinking about this for a while but this story made it even more likely: Maybe some or all Targaryens go through some sort of embryonic dragon stage that gives way to human features as the fetus develops and by the and of the third trimester, when viable, all dragon features have subsided. Both Visenya and Rhaego were premature. Is there any record of a Targaryen premature birth that did not have these features? Getting further out there – Was Tyrion premature? Maybe he had a scaly tail that was severed at Tywen’s order but the servants spread rumors of its existence?

I finally got around to listening to this and I think an important question remains unanswered. We know there is a connection between dragons and Dragonstone. It shouldn’t be all that surprising that Sunfyre returned to Dragonstone when he was hurt. (Note that Aegon II also returned to Dragonstone when he was hurt although it is explained that no one would think to look for him there.)

My question is why did Rhaenyra travel to Dragonstone to give birth? The question stands whether Viserys I died suddenly or not, although it is even more strange for her to leave KL if his death was expected.

Reply to “Episode 129: The Princess and the Queen”

About

You are listening to A Podcast of Ice and Fire, the award-winning, longest-running podcast dedicated to the epic glory of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga. And sometimes Pokemon.

We are the Brotherhood Without Manners, the heirs to House Manwoody of Kingsgrave, Dorne, and your audible source for everything in the world of A Song Of Ice and Fire, as well as HBO's Game of Thrones series. Our podcast is a ridiculous, fun amalgamation of series news, theories, discussion, opinions, and lowbrow humor. Listen in, and join the cult.

Warning: Episodes contain spoilers for all published ASOIAF books, explicit content on par with the series content, and constant references to creaking doors.

Current listeners: 0

Resources

Awesome ASOIAF-related websites we use and love.

Tower of the Hand - The unofficial website companion to the series, for all your referencing needs and re-read refreshers. We like to pretend they sponsor us.

Westeros - Series information, news updates, and the best ASOIAF forums for geeking out.

Watchers on the Wall - All you've ever wanted to know about HBO's Game of Thrones series in one comprehensive blog.